Bicycles typically include a front tube between the bicycle's handle bars and the fork of the bicycle, and a rear tube that extends below the seat of the bicycle. A crossbar and a transverse tube can extend from the front tube to the rear tube, and the bicycle can be supported at its crossbar and/or transverse tube when attached to a bicycle carrier for transporting the bicycle. The transverse tube can be disposed below the crossbar.
Bicycle carriers for transporting bicycles on the back of a motor vehicle are known in the art. Some bicycle carriers can be mounted to the trunk of a vehicle, and some bicycle carriers can be mounted to the hitch of a vehicle. Typical bicycle carriers include at least one or two support arms that extend from the frame of the bicycle carrier in a rearward direction away from the back of the vehicle.
Saddles or mounts can be placed on the support arms of a bicycle carrier to receive the crossbar of a bicycle. Straps or bindings can be used to secure to bicycle to the mount. Such mounts can prevent direct contact between the bicycle and the support arm, which may cause damage to one or both of the support arm and the crossbar.
Mounts and their associated straps can prevent excessive movement of a bicycle during vehicular travel. However, mounts and straps known in the art have not been able to satisfactorily prevent the back and forth swaying movement of a bicycle toward and away from the vehicle when the vehicle accelerates and decelerates. Such a swaying motion, if not restricted, can result in the bicycle swaying against other bicycles mounted on the support arms or against the rear of the vehicle itself.
In view of the above, a bicycle mount that restricts the swaying motion of a bicycle mounted thereto is desired. Preferably, such a bicycle mount is simple to manufacture or to mold so that tooling and material costs are minimized and the mount is easy to install and use.